My name is Annie. I am currently an undergraduate student in the Fashion Business Management program. The reason I choose this program is because fashion and business are both fields that I am passionate about. My strengths are digital design. I can work well with different software and programs to create a product that I want. For instance, I know how to use Canva well. I also know how to use Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator. Sometimes, I use other drawing or creative apps. Graphic design is something I have always been interested in. I like to try different compositions and layouts, colors, shapes, and sizes. Since I work well with computers, most of my work is digital. I am currently working on designing on paper, using pencil, back to the traditional way. Even though design is not an aspect which I choose to pursue in the long run, I like it because for me it is a valuable asset for both fashion and business. I could use my design skills to create products that could help in my business campaigns.
Reflection of the course
I have gained a lot of things from this course. As for me, the biggest lessons that I have and they also appear in many of the assignments are always looking at things from different angles, utilizing what we have, and how to visualize and communicate your ideas to others. Things can change or feel a lot different when looking at another perspective. It affects how we perceive things. I am good with computers, therefore, I could use those skills to create and organize work digitally better. Given the fact that UoA is a university, I could take advantage of that and have a variety of man-made objects for the dwelling assignment. We can visualize and communicate our ideas through drawings of our own, pictures we took, or images from the internet. For instance, to visualize the 5 principles of Gestalt Principles, we use black or white paper, along with triangles and squares to visualize those. If visuals are not enough, then we have text to support us. Other lessons that I learned so far are Gestalt Principles (how we see things around us), hierarchy (arrangement of elements), typeface (choosing or creating the appropriate font. Overall, I get to experience the creative process, learning how to accept and finding new perspectives, and strengthen my skills.
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One of the most eye-opening assignments which is also the very first one that I got in this class is the Taste Exercise. Taste Exercise is an assignment where there are a lot of objects and for each one, we have to evaluate how pretty it is and explain our ratings. I had to look up some of the objects or concepts because I did not know what they are, and I gain a lot more knowledge while researching for those. Lots of my ratings is based on culture, my experience which can relate to the senses, the attachment or memories I have with those, and some because of media. It is an assignment that took lots of time but it was interesting. I am glad that I got to hear my classmates' opinion too. I like hearing their points of view, why do they have that perspective, and why they are different from mine. Some differences is because of culture, some because of the emotional attachments with the objects. I learn how to take on new point of view, listen and understand people's perspectives, and recognize the significant of culture.
